The Second Ward occupies the Eastern-Central part of Minneapolis and straddles the East and West banks of the iconic Mississippi River gorge. It includes a diverse mix of residential, institutional, industrial and commercial land uses with some of the highest density housing outside of downtown, flourishing low density residential neighborhoods, thriving and underutilized industrial areas and major commercial corridors like University Ave and East Lake Street. It is also home to several significant institutions including the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota, Augsburg College and the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. For more information about the people and places of Ward 2, see our Ward 2 Planning Department Profile and our Regulatory Services 2016 Report.

Current Projects

Glendale Townhomes Historic Designation

I have formally nominated the Glendale Townhomes for local historic designation. You can find the completed nomination here. I did this with support from both the local neighborhood group, the Prospect Park Association and a group resident activists, Defend Glendale.

The Glendale Housing Development Project area consists of six tax parcels and some additional land located on 13 acres one block south of the intersection of 27th Avenue Southeast and University Avenue Southeast in the Prospect Park neighborhood of southeast Minneapolis.

Glendale Townhomes consists of 184 townhomes designed for families, spread across 28 buildings in Minneapolis' Prospect Park neighborhood. Built in 1952 during the tenure of Mayor Hubert Humphrey, the townhomes are the oldest property the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) owns. It is the only medium density public housing project of its kind in the city. I am convinced that it is worthy of nomination study because it potentially meets criteria 1, 3 and 5 (below) for local designation as outlined in our Historic Preservation Regulations.

1) The property is associated with significant events or with periods that exemplify broad patterns of cultural, political, economic or social history;

3) The property contains or is associated with distinctive elements of city or neighborhood identity; and

5) The property exemplifies a landscape design or development pattern distinguished by innovation, rarity, uniqueness or quality of design or detail.

The 2040 Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan

Following lengthy hearings and many amendments, on December 7, the Minneapolis City Council approved the a final draft of the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan and directed staff to submit the plan to the Metropolitan Council for review. In the process all but one of the amendments I brought forward passed, including 6 land use/ built form map amendments, 4 new policies and 24 of my 25 smaller amendments to existing policies. After some discussion and strong opposition from one colleague, I withdrew the amendment that would have changed the number of years we would pursue policies requiring affordability for housing from 30 to 50. All of the amendments I introduced are available for review here.

The plan will now be forwarded to neighboring jurisdictions for review and comments and then, by December 31, to the Metropolitan Council for their review. The Met Council then will have 120 days to review, require modifications to be made and/or approve the plan. Once approved by the Met Council the work of implementing the plan will fall to the City Council. The Metropolitan Council stipulates that the city is to amend any official controls that conflict with our plan within 9 months. I will be working hard over the months and years following the plans approval to implement its goals whole working hard to put in place the necessary regulations, resources and policies to guide the growth and development called out in the plan in a way that provides real community benefits and serves the future needs of our city while also preserving and protecting what we appreciate most our neighborhoods, communities and city. You can find the approved plan at Minneapolis 2040

Energy Disclosure Ordinance.

I am working a new residential energy disclosure ordinance that with Council Member Schroeder that will provide a framework so that, eventually, all Minneapolis renters and home buyers will be able to get accurate information about the energy use at the buildings where they live. It would amend Title 3, Chapter 47 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances relating to Air Pollution and Environmental Protection: Energy and Air Pollution as well as Title 12, Chapter 248 that relates to Housing: Truth in Sale of Housing. In both sections we will be adding provisions relating to residential energy disclosure. You can learn more at http://www.minneapolismn.gov/sustainability/buildings-energy/index.htm

QUICK LINKS

Accessibility: For reasonable accommodations or alternative formats, contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users can call 612-673-2157 or 612-673-2626.

Salary Compliance Notice:State statute 471.701; Notice of Salary Compliance, requires that the City post for not less than 90 days the job title of the three highest paid employees along with their base salary. For 2018 these were:1. City Attorney, $186,4902. Assistant City Coordinator Convention Center, $183,6003. Director Public Works, $181,191